BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

Thursday, 29 December, 2005

Watchdog slams 'fatal blow' to newspaper

MOSCOW: International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday slammed Belarus for dealing a "last fatal blow" to the independent weekly Solidarity, forced out of business last week.

"Voicing deep regret that the newspaper will no longer be available at news stands on January 1, Reporters Without Borders roundly condemned the action of the Belarusian authorities in denying the country's independent newspapers access to all necessary resources," the group said in a statement.

"The arsenal of repressive administrative measures deployed against the news media shows that President (Alexander) Lukashenko is bent on systematically silencing all criticism," the statement read.

"His aim is to leave Belarus without any opposition in order to pave the way for his triumph in next year's presidential election. All the media are in his sights and there is every reason to think his offensive will accelerate as the election approaches," the group added.

The weekly Solidarity, published by independent trade unions in Belarus, appeared for the last time on Friday after being forced out of business by heavy pressure from the authorities, the editorial staff said.

In a message printed in the magazine's final edition, editors said the government had taken a number of steps, including terminating a contract with the state magazine distribution agency, that had made it impossible for the weekly to continue functioning in the authoritarian ex-Soviet state. - AFP

Source:

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=66611&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21

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